Repetitive stress injuries (RSI) are believed to result from repetitive motions which strain or injure a part of the body due to the repetitive nature of the motions. One common repetitive stress injury is carpal tunnel syndrome, which may cause pain and numbness in the hands and wrists due to swelling of the tendons. Carpal tunnel syndrome is believed to be a result of repetitive movements in the wrist and hand, e.g., as a result of data entry with a keyboard. Data entry operators, secretaries, sales checkout clerks, and others who use keyboards for extended periods of time may be at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome.
Further, some industrial tasks, such as assembly line and meat packing work, may involve repetitive tasks that can cause RSI. Over the road truck drivers, who spend hours driving with the arms and hands in the same position, may also be susceptible to RSI. In general, any occupation or activity that involves the repetitive performance of a task may give rise to RSI.
The frequency of RSI has increased, often resulting in debilitating injuries and workers compensation claims, as well as a number of lawsuits filed against employers and manufacturers of suspect products such as keyboards. Therefore, a significant amount of study has begun to determine the precise causes of RSI and how to prevent it.
To date, several proposed solutions for preventing RSI have been the use of supports or pads, e.g., wrist pads commonly used with keyboards, or the use of braces, e.g. wrist braces, to prevent the movement of joints. Experts also suggest taking breaks and stretching to break up repetitive tasks. However, it is inconclusive at this time whether any of the pads, supports, or braces have reduced the frequency of RSI, and efforts to encourage workers to take breaks and stretch may not be particularly successful since the workers themselves must take the necessary steps to prevent RSI.
Therefore, a need exists for a method of reducing or preventing the occurrence of repetitive stress injury and the like, preferably without requiring any special effort on the part of an operator or worker. There also exists a need for an apparatus for implementing the method for reducing RSI.